When will he realize?
by CantanteChica
Summary: A new girl joins squad 7 and Sasuke finally feels something new towards a person. Love. He falls for the new girl, while still trying to understand her. And when he finally does, it just makes thinks better. More difficult, but better. Sasu x OC
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Ring."

Another day at the academy just ended. As Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto walked down the hall, Sasuke saw a girl walk past them toward the classroom. She had long brown hair with side bangs that swooped across her forehead, and had her head bent down, so he couldn't see her face. Her arms were crossed over her chest as if she were scared for her life; so reclusive. She wore a pair of black shorts and an aqua colored tank top. Around her neck, she wore a crystal necklace. Sasuke had seen her every day, walking toward the classroom just as everyone else was leaving, ever since the school year started. He kept wondering, "Who is she?"

Many days later, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto, and everyone else in the class, took the graduation exams, and became Genine – all except Naruto that is. Naruto didn't pass. But he graduated somehow. The next day, everyone would be getting put into a squad. Naruto wanted to be put in a squad with Sakura. Sakura wanted to be in a squad with Sasuke. Sasuke didn't care.

(Well, you know the rest. Like, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were put in squad seven.)

About two weeks after they were put into squads, Kakashi told them, "You guys, we'll be getting a new member of the squad tomorrow."

"Why?" asked Naruto

"Because there's nowhere else for her to go and I think she could really help you guys. So just put up with it, please?"

"Fine."

"What's her name?" asked Sakura

"Chihiro Koyomada." Kakashi replied. I'll see you three tomorrow."

Sasuke started to walk off, but Sakura wanted to go with him. "Instead of flirting, how about practice a jutsu or something? At least it'll give you something to do besides annoy me." Sasuke said.

Sakura stood there, shocked at what he had just said. Suddenly, a pebble hit Sasuke's shoulder fairly hard, and leaving a bruise rather quickly. He turned around to see who threw it.

----

Sitting behind a tree nearby, she held her breath, hoping they wouldn't notice her. She wasn't even supposed to be here. She couldn't believe that a guy that hot would say something that mean.

"Insensitive bastard." She thought.

She picked up a rock nearby and threw it at him. It hit his shoulder. When he turned around, she thought he might see her, so she started to get up, ready to run for it.

"Stop; don't even think about running." He stated.

She hadn't moved yet. Turning to face the group, she approached them slowly, with her head down…again. Stopping right in front of Sasuke, he glared at her with his piercing black eyes.

"Lo siento." She said

Sakura just looked at her confused.

"Spanish for sorry." She told them. "I'm half Hispanic."

"Which means…?" Naruto asked

"I'm part Mexican and can speak Spanish as a second language, moron!" She said angrily.

If this was the girl that Sasuke had seen in the hallway at the academy, she was, now, wearing a graduation headband.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked.

She simply looked at them in silence and then, she was gone.

(Next day)

"Hello." Said Kakashi

"You're late!" yelled Sakura and Naruto

Sasuke said nothing.

"Anyway, I would like you to meet your new teammate, Chihiro." Kakashi said

The girl they had met yesterday stepped out from behind a tree.

"Hey." She said

"You?!" asked all 3 simultaneously.

"Ok, I'm lost. What's up?" Kakashi stated.

"We met her yesterday." Naruto replied

"Well now isn't this a small world?" Chihiro asked, filled with sarcasm.

"And getting smaller." Sasuke added, "You know, I'm still happy you threw that rock at me."

"Big whoop. You deserved it." Chihiro commented.

"All right!" Sakura said overly excited and Chihiro gave her a high five.

Sasuke gave Sakura a sharp glare Sakura's smile faster than a light during a power outage.

"You look even weaker than Sakura." Naruto said.

"Shut the hell up." Said Chihiro.

"Make me."

"Believe me, I will."

"Bring it on girlie."

"That's it!"

The look in Chihiro's brown eyes, almost a dark bronze color with a certain smoky edge when she looked at you with a glare, terrified them, filled with anger. Kakashi grabbed her arms, stopping her from charging after Naruto. Chihiro was struggling to get out of his grasp and she knew she could release herself from his grasp, but at the same time, couldn't.

"You think I would let you two kill each other on your first day of being teammates?" Kakashi asked sarcastically.

Naruto look at Chihiro and said, "Just as I thought; weakling." Chihiro looked at Kakashi.

Kakashi merely sighed and released her, and she charged. Down in a few seconds, Naruto lay sprawled on the ground, twitching in pain.

"I take it back." Said Naruto

"Ever cross me again, and I'll do so much worse." Chihiro said. She turned around and walked off with a furious look on her face.

"She scares me." Naruto said

It was getting late, so they all went home. As Sasuke was walking home, he looked up at the Hokage monument. He saw a small light about 100 feet above the second head. So he decided to go that way before heading home. When he reached the bottom of the mountain, he heard a faint sound of music. A guitar. Sasuke started jumping from one rock to the next, getting higher each time. He started to hear singing.

"Whoever they are, they're really good." He thought

He could now hear words, but he couldn't understand them.

_El sol canta el amor de nuevo esta noche (the sun sang love again tonight)_

_Para este niño dulce y maravilloso de las minas(for this sweet and wonderful child of mine)_

_Estoy deseando para que usted pueda estar aquí de Nuevo (I'm longing for you to be here again)_

_Yo nunca te dejaré ir (I'll never let you go)_

_Te voy a decepcionar a (I'll never let you down)_

_Voy a mirar el cielo y señalar los pájaros (I'll watch the sky and point out the birds)_

_Porque sé que (because I know that)_

_El sol canta el amor de nuevo esta noche (the sun sang love again tonight)_

_Para este niño dulce y maravilloso de las minas (for this sweet and wonderful child of mine)_

_Guapo ruiseñor (pretty nightingale)_

Sasuke reached small cave like ditch in the mountain. Sitting on the ledge, was Chihiro. She was facing the other way, so he was hoping she wouldn't know he was there, but she did, cause then she said, "Who's there?"

"Sasuke," He replied "your teammate."

Chihiro put down the guitar, and stood up.

"How'd you find me?" she asked

"I saw a light up here." Sasuke replied

"Yeah… I need to get a smaller flashlight." Chihiro added, seeing her sense of humor still present.

"You're really good." Sasuke said.

"Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you say that? You never compliment _anyone_."

"I know, but, I can make an exception this time. So do you not have a home, or is this where you stay?"

"I have a home, I just come up here some nights to think, sing, get a good view of the village. I thing the best part, is that no one knows about this place. Or, at least, no one used to."

"I see. Well, I'll leave you alone and see you tomorrow."

"Well, actually, if you want, you can stay up here tonight. You can take the sleeping bag."

"I wouldn't wanna put you out in the cold."

"I'll be fine."

"Well, ok then. Night"

It seemed like Sasuke had been asleep for hours, but, it was more like 30 minutes. He was awake, but his eyes were still closed. He could hear Chihiro singing and playing her guitar again. Sasuke knew that if he opened his eyes, she would know that he was awake, and he wanted to hear her sing. But he didn't get to because he fell asleep again

Morning came and when Sasuke woke up, he looked around to find Chihiro. But she was gone. What time was it? Sasuke took his cell phone out of his pocket to look at the time.

"Ahh shit!" he thought. "I'm gonna be late for training."

Sasuke bolted. He made it to the bridge merely seconds before Kakashi.

"Well today's your day off." Kakashi said

"I thought yesterday was our day off." Naruto added

"Figures. Such a big head and so little in it." Sakura said

"I think I can hear it rattle." Chihiro commented.

*

Chihiro is just like all the other girls (in a way). She has a massive crush on Sasuke. But, she's the only girl who hides it, or at least, never let on.

Sasuke completely forgot that he'd recorded what Chihiro was singing while he was asleep on is cell phone. Until now that is.

_I thought about you yesterday_

_And how you were so far away_

_Why is that?_

_But now I know that when you're near_

_Your touch makes it hard to breath_

_I wanna be myself_

_But even I'm afraid_

_Of how it will all work out…in the end_

_Will you see me as a monster?_

_Will you run and hide?_

_I don't wanna be this, but then in your eyes_

_I see another part of me that even I didn't know was there_

_You tempt me_

*

As Chihiro was walking to her apartment, Ino grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to the side.

"So you're name is…?" asked Ino

"Chihiro." She replied.

"Okay so everyone, this is Chihiro. She's the newest member of squad 7."

"Hi." Everyone else replied.

And by everyone, I mean all the other Genine from Konoha. Like Kiba, Neji, Hinata, etc.

All the guys had a serious look on their faces. But, inside they didn't know what to think. Their heads were spinning, not knowing whether to be professional and respect her, or to let their hormones take over and fall for her. And, yes, even Neji.

"Well nice meetin' you guys. Bye!" Chihiro said. She left immediately and went home.


	2. Chapter 2

So, as you've seen so far, Sasuke has a certain magnetic force when it comes to the female population. And so does Chihiro, with the male. A force which burned the souls with her essence so deeply, it can not be healed. However, for some unfathomable reason, that burning sensation had not yet reached the heart of a particular Uchiha.

*

Merely sitting at a restaurant, enjoying their meal, the squad had joined together. They seemed to be having a good time, getting to know Chihiro.

"So, Chihiro, where'd you train before?" asked Sakura.

"Here." Chihiro replied. "I always have."

"Really? I've never seen you before."

"Ok, A: I went to preschool with you. I went to preschool with all _3_ of you. And B: the reason you probably don't remember me, is cause I never took the same classes as you guys in the academy."

"Why not?" Naruto asked smugly. "Think you're too good for us?"

"Naruto, you know that's not it."

"Then tell me; tell_ us_ why that is, then."

She sat still for an unsuspected moment, trying to think of a way out of the question. "Well, you see…it's cause -"

"It's because she's a bit different." Kakashi butted in. "you of all people should understand that." He stated, while eyeing Naruto.

Naruto remained silent for the rest of the meal.

"ok then, well, what are your parents like? Any siblings?" sakura continued.

Chihiro suddenly got a look in her eyes like she was in pain. not merely like a paper cut, but like she was being stabbed in the chest over and over. Tears welled fast. She pushed to hold them in, just grabbed her phone off the table and left.

"did I say something?" Sakura asked

"Kind of. You asked what her parents were like." Kakashi replied

"So?"

"She doesn't have any."

"Neither do Sasuke and Naruto."

"There's a difference. Sasuke and Naruto were both, _true_, of a young age when they lost their parents, but Chihiro never knew hers. At least Naruto and Sasuke were at an age capable of retaining memories."

"She _never_ knew them?"

"Never. Entire family slaughtered on her day of birth."

"Oh my god."

"yes. So, please try to refrain from the subject."

*

Chihiro was at home standing in front of her mirror in the bathroom. There were so many things about her past that she didn't know – so many that she _wanted_ to know. She performed a series of hand signs and thought, _open mind jutsu, _hoping it would work on her self if in front of a mirror. Chihiro closed her eyes and let the chakra flow between herself and the mirror.

She saw a dark figure in the distance. His eyes blazed red. The man walked into a hospital room. A woman was in the bed and she was holding an infant. There was a guy sitting in a chair by the bed - the father, supposedly. The strange man pulled a kunai out from behind him. Terrified, the woman tried to protect the child, and the father, protecting her. But, the stranger slaughtered them, a true massacre. Them both, now dead, yet the baby, still alive. The mother, with just barely enough strength left to open her eyes, took off her necklace and placed it around the child.

"Chihiro." She whispered.

A kunai was thrown in her direction, straight to her back. Finally, dead.

Chihiro came out of the jutsu and fell backwards, terrified at what she had seen. She had seen her parents' death. Before then, she hadn't even known what they looked like. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She'd seen it, not only in person as a newborn, but then again, right before her eyes, just now. She struggled to make her way to her bed to attempt to sleep it off.

As Chihiro slept, the scene kept repeating in her head over and over. The man with the red eyes, her mom, her dad, herself as an infant. She couldn't take it anymore. But then, she saw something she never thought she would ever see. She saw Sasuke. And, he also had the red eyes.

"It couldn't be." Chihiro thought. "No!"

Chihiro awoke from the horrid nightmare, drenched in sweat. She put her hands on her face and cried. Hot tears were stinging her eyes and rolling down her cheeks.

*

It was about one in the morning. Sasuke was still awake oddly. Just lying in his bed. He just couldn't sleep for some reason. Suddenly, he heard a faint cry next door. He got on his shoes and went next door. When he knocked on the door, he realized the cry had become even fainter. He heard footsteps coming towards him from inside the apartment.

*

Chihiro was still crying, but trying to keep it in. she heard a knock on her door. She took a deep, quivering, breath, which helped her not to cry. She got up out of bed and went to see who was there.

When Chihiro opened the door and saw Sasuke, she felt like she was going to be sick.

"Hey Sasuke."

"Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Why would you think that I'm not?" her eyes still bloodshot from the strain of tears.

"I could hear you crying."

"Oh. Umm, yeah, bad dream – really bad dream."

"Well okay. I, uhh, hope you can get back to sleep. I'm having trouble, myself. But, I guess I'll go, now."

As Sasuke started to walk away, Chihiro asked, "Wanna come in?"

"Sure."

Sasuke had just stepped into Chihiro's apartment when he almost got knocked down by something. When he came back to his senses, he realized it was a cat.

"You have a cat?" Sasuke asked

"Yeah. I work at the animal shelter a block away." Chihiro replied

The cat started licking sasuke's face. (Sasuke sweat drop)

"Wow. Other than me, you're the first person she hasn't attacked." Chihiro stated

Sasuke looked at the calming feline and saw that she was orange with striking green eyes. The cat leaped off of Sasuke and ran off into Chihiro's bedroom.

Sasuke's eyes immediately fell upon a drawing on the table a few feet away. It looked really familiar. But, he would have to get closer to get a good view of it. Chihiro realized what he was looking at.

"I decided to draw, since I couldn't sleep." Chihiro said.

Sasuke walked closer and realized who it was.

"Where'd you see this face?" he asked

"You would think I was crazy."

"Believe me that's the farthest thing from my mind right now. You have to tell me."

"I was having nightmares. I don't know who it is, but I do know that he killed my parents."

"Itachi." He whispered.

"Who?" Chihiro asked curiously

"My older brother, Itachi. He killed off our entire family when I was little, just to test his strength; that bastard!" he raged. "You know what? That's it!"

Sasuke left the apartment briskly. He went to his own and started packing.

Apparently Chihiro fallowed him because then, she said, "Where you going?"

"Itachi's caused pain and loss for a lot of people and I can't just stand by and let it happen anymore." Sasuke replied

"I'm coming with you."

"Are you crazy?'

"In some ways, yes. But that's not the point. This is my fight too."

"Fine. You'd better go pack."

Chihiro ran out of the room to go back to her room and pack. A few minutes later, they were both dressed and ready to leave.

As they walked out of Konoha, Chihiro felt suddenly empty. Like she'd never return.

"You can calm down you know." She heard Sasuke say

"But how…" Chihiro started

"How'd I know you were panicking? Easy. When a person lies or panics, there's a physical reaction. I can sense your stress."

"Show off." Chihiro whispered

"I heard that." Sasuke stated.

"Grr." Chihiro thought.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note:

Hey ya'll. I'm sorry I haven't posted in a real long time. I've been real busy with school and babysitting and being a teenager, so deal with it. And when, I was finally done with all that shit, I had no idea how to post another chapter, but now I _do_. So there! Ha! Anyways, Sasuke and Chihiro had just left Konoha to go and look for Itachi because not only didn't he kill the entire Uchiha clan when Sasuke was 7, but he killed both halves of Chihiro's entire family as well 7 years before that. And for those of you who don't know ……………

**B-day's **

Sakura – March 28th (oldest)

Sasuke – July 23rd

Naruto – October 10th

Chihiro – January 1st (youngest)

So, there's your update. Now Read!!

*

Sasuke and Chihiro had been walking for days. They had found no sign of Itachi or any clues leading to him either. So, when they walked into a clearing in the forest, they decided to camp there for the night.

Sasuke, unable to sleep, starred at the flames illuminating from the small fire Chihiro had built. But, he didn't know how she made it. He had only been gone for a few moments, she didn't have any matches, or abilities in fire jutsu as far as he knew. Plus, the wood, he thought, had been wet. So it should've taken a lot longer.

Once Sasuke had realized that Chihiro was sound asleep, he figured it was time for him to catch some sleep too. He put the fire out and went to sleep. A very deep sleep considering how long he'd been awake.

Merely a few minutes after Sasuke had fallen asleep, Chihiro was awoken by the snap of a twig, somewhere nearby.

"Crack!" There it was again.

"who's there?" she called quietly.

Chihiro got up slowly and walked passed the trees. When she found no one, she was about to turn back, when she was grabbed her from behind. An arm wrapped around her torso with great force. She couldn't even move. a kunai was placed at her neck ready to slice at any moment. Beginning to panic, Chihiro tried to remain cool. But, how was that possible when someone was about to find out her secret from trying to kill her? She had to think of something quick.

At the camp sight, Sasuke opened his eyes and looked around only to see complete darkness. He created a fireball in his hand with a jutsu and peered over and Chihiro's sleeping bag only to notice that it was empty. Where could she have gone at this hour? He was about to turn it off and think nothing of it, seeing as how she could've just gone to the bathroom, when he heard a whisper.

"Shut up!" someone whispered. Sasuke knew he had heard something. There was no questioning it now. He had definitely heard _someone._

"Let go of me!" Chihiro yelled.

Gasp! How could he have been so stupid?! Of course! If someone had been following them, they would take the girl hostage, obviously thinking that she would be weaker. How wrong they were.

Sasuke ran into the woods as fast as he could only to come face to face with a horrid memory.

"I'm guessing this is Itachi." Chihiro stated from under Itachi's grasp.

"Yeah, but he's still the same jackass I remember." Sasuke replied

"Very funny little brother." Itachi said coolly "Now, which do you want it to be dead? Her? Or both of you?"

"Let's try C, none of the above?" Chihiro said angrily, still trying to get free from itachi's grasp withought being cut. "let go of me." She repeated with her head down so neither could see her face.

"Fat Chance." Itachi replied

"Come, on Itachi, let her go! This is between you and me!" Sasuke demanded

"Now, where's the fun in that?"

"I said…………" Chihiro exclaimed with rage, "Let go of me!!"  
A sudden burst of wind came from around her, knocking the Uchihas to the ground. Well, Itachi to the ground, and Sasuke through a tree, seeing as he was lighter. When Chihiro lifted her head, Sasuke saw that her eyes were red. Not red, like she'd been crying for a long time. Red as in, glowing red; and illuminating a feeling of danger. She turned to Itachi, and for the first time ever, Sasuke saw fear in Itachi's eyes. Just then, Sasuke lost control of the light he'd produced and it went dark again.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Sasuke had never heard Itachi scream before. He immediately focused on producing another fire ball and looked around, frantically to where he last saw Chihiro and Itachi. There, on the ground, was Itachi. Dead. Torn to shreds as if a wild animal had killed him. But the only person standing beside him, was Chihiro.

Chihiro's eyes returned to their normal chocolate color as she fell to the ground, unconscious.

Sasuke slowly walked to her to check for injuries, only to find none. And picked Chihiro up, carrying her back to the camp sight. Sasuke laid Chihiro down back in her sleeping bag and went to his own. Still, trying to figure out what the hell happened back there, he fell back asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Time is only a state of mind and age is just a number. But have you ever considered that maybe our lives are nothing but a never ending series of dreams created in the contents of a sleeping mind and that who possesses these dreams will never wake up? I only wish it was that simple.

***

Back in the village now, Chihiro still unconscious in a hospital ward; tubes coming from every possible part of her arm and the heart rate monitor by her side. Sasuke was sitting next to her bed still trying to come up with a fathomable idea as to what had happened to his brother back in the clearing. But nothing came to his mind. It was completely blank; completely stunned; stupefied.

He gave a deep sigh as the last nurse left. Chihiro stirred in the hospital bed, mumbling in almost coma-like sleep.

Sasuke froze, not wanting to wake her up, but at the same time, wanting to. He wanted answers. "Chihiro? Can you hear me?" he asked

Her heart rate suddenly spiked for a second. "Sas…k…" she mumbled deeply, still not awaking. He started shaking her lightly.

"No. you gotta get out of here……..'S not safe." She continued

Majorly confused now, Sasuke went out into the hall and called a nurse.

"How long do you think she's gonna be out?" he asked

"I really don't know. She was out for awhile when you brought her in and she woke up momentarily last night but she was screaming and we had to sedate her." The nurse replied

"What? Why would you have to sedate her?"

"I wouldn't expect you to remember. You were sleeping on the bench in the hallway; but she woke up, started screaming and writhing in some sort of pain. We had to strap her down just to have her still enough to get the needle in _to_ sedate her. She didn't sound like herself, though. I can't exactly explain what happened. None of us really know, for that matter. But, listen, I would try to explain the best I could, _if_ I could, but I have other patients I need to get to." She said and then raced back down the hall.

Sasuke just stood by the doorway and looked in at Chihiro sleeping soundly in the hospital bed. He could barely remember last night.

_**- - **__Sasuke was sitting by the window in Chihiro's room, looking outside at the treetops and tops of the buildings nearby. He had to strain to see anything. The streetlights didn't light up hardly anything and there was no moon to light things up either. He was also surprised by how warm it was for early January. Chihiro had just turned 13 about 2 weeks ago, and now she was in the hospital. _Some birthday present_. He was exhausted and couldn't bear to look at her and how it was his fault she was there. If he'd never mentioned Itachi to her in the first place and how he was gonna go kill him, finally, she would've never wanted to join him._

_ He felt useless. He felt almost helpless for not being able to help her when the situation called for it._

_ Finally not being able to stay awake for much longer, he went out into the hallway, sprawled out on a bench, and slept._

_***_

_ Late in the evening, Sasuke still asleep, he heard the rushing of multiple sets of footsteps going into Chihiro's room. And then, a scream. A gut wrenching, blood curdling scream. Being deprived of sleep for days, he could only open his eyes a sliver to seen what was happening. There were many doctors and nurses surrounding her bed but every once in awhile, he would catch of glimpse of her through the crowd. She was tossing and turning. Bending her body back and clenching the muscles in every part of her. Another scream, almost sounding like a monster this time. Another nurse running in with a set of leather restraints was assisted by almost everyone there in strapping Chihiro down to the hospital bed. She was still jerking to get out of them when they gagged her mouth just long enough to stop the screams while they gave her the anesthetic. But it hadn't worked. They gave her another 6 doses before she finally fell unconscious. Taking the gag out of her mouth and untying the restraints, all but 1 nurse left the room. The final nurse gave her 1 more dose of anesthesia just to be sure, and then left. She, once again, looked like she was sleeping peacefully, but really, was just knocked out._ _**- -**_

Back to reality, out of his slight memories, he couldn't even imagine how he couldn't remember something like that before he _really thought_ about it. How could he……..with something like that? He just stared at her with desperation in his eyes, desperately wanting to help her.

A doctor came in to check on her again. Checking her pulse, pressure, and heart rate.

"Hey," Sasuke started "when do we get to leave?"

"Well, after last night's little episode, we're gonna ask to keep her here for one more night just for observation." He replied.

The doctor left just as dusk broke over the horizon. Sasuke sighed and slumped down into the recliner next to the hospital bed. Now, back into the dark night, Sasuke gave up finally. With Chihiro still out, he went home and started packing.

He was planning to leave at first because he wanted to be strong enough to defeat his brother, but now that he was already dead, he wanted to be strong enough to make sure that whatever happened to Chihiro never happened again and also, Naruto was going to overpower him soon, at the rate he was going. He wanted to keep his standing next to Naruto.

He finished packing his stuff and silently left through the village gates, leaving Sakura on the park bench.


	5. Chapter 5

Day break, the next morning, sakura was shaking Chihiro violently.

"Wake up!" she was practically screaming in Chihiro's ear.

Chihiro groaned, opening her eyes to see Sakura's scared and depressed expression. Chihiro sat up quick, concerned.

"What's wrong?" Chihiro asked

"He's gone. I'm so sorry." Sakura replied, a single tear falling across her cheek.

"Wait, who's gone?"

"Sasuke…"

"What?!"

"I tried to stop him. I'm sorry. I feel really useless right now."

"No, you're not. But, do you know where he went?"

"To train with Orochimaru. Naruto's already on his way to bring him back."

***

Shortly after that conversation, Chihiro was discharged from the hospital and returned home to an apartment with no neighbor. Depression felt sudden, though she couldn't help it. She'd never gotten to let him know; about 2 things. One was inevitable, the other, she knew he'd be worried about.

The nurse had told her, before she left that he had been worried about her when he remembered her being in so much pain. But, it couldn't be helped, now.

Chihiro went to her room, with mail in hand, and slumped down on to the bed. She didn't feel like doing anything. Breathing, eating, sleeping, and not even crying. She just didn't want to do _anything_. She started flipping through the letters, one-by-one. It was mostly suggestions for new missions, bills, and junk mail. But then, she came across a single envelope with nothing but her name on it. No return address; nothing.

She was about to throw it out, when she studied the handwriting of the name and noticed it was Sasuke's.

She quickly ripped it open and pulled out a letter that was definitely from Sasuke.

It read…

_Chihiro,_

_I'm sorry I had to do this. I have to get stronger. I didn't want to leave you behind, but I had no other choice. And I never got to tell you this, but, I'm in love with you. I don't know when it happened, or _how_ it happened, but I am. I promise, I _will _come back. And I want you to have what's in this envelope. It was my mothers. It's all I have left from happy memories._

_**3**__ Sasuke_

She dug into the envelope and pulled out a silver chain, with a little silver heart on it; a locket. It had an antique border around it with a capital "U" in calligraphy engraved on the front. Satin finish, so it wasn't very noticeable. The "U" obviously stood for Uchiha.

She opened it and saw on one side, the new team photo they'd taken after she had joined the squad and on the other side, a picture of Sasuke as a little kid with his parents, smiling and hugging him.'

She couldn't help but feel depressed again. They looked so happy. She'd never had that happiness. When her parents had died, Kakashi was chosen to be her legal guardian, but he was a lot younger then and wasn't ready to be a parent, so he asked Iruka to take care of her as she grew up. And Iruka _did_ take care of her for the 1st 6 years or so, but then he became too preoccupied with Naruto, that she'd pretty much taken care of her self from then on. She'd grown up so fast, having to be her own parent.

In kindergarten, she'd sat by herself at all costs because she'd thought the other students were too immature. They hadn't been by themselves for so long.

But, there was nothing she could do about the fact, now.

***

Over the course of the next few weeks, Chihiro didn't really do much. She would go to practice, and show up Naruto, Sakura, and Sai again and again and again, and she would go on missions, not really wanting to argue.

Even Tsunade had noticed a change in her attitude. Nobody knew what to do.

***

It was night. Cold; dead. Sakura was laying on her bed, studying for an upcoming exam, merely 2 weeks after Sasuke had left. Boredom came fast. She decided to go visit Chihiro and try to cheer her up, grabbing a pint of Reese's ice cream on her way out the door.

Sakura walked the dark, silent streets, towards the apartment complex where Chihiro lived.

She started thinking about what to say to try and make things better. She, herself had gotten over Sasuke. But she didn't think Chihiro ever would. Naruto had returned a few days after Sasuke's disappearance with no luck of bringing him back, which, of course devastated Chihiro even more. But, she was going to cheer her up, somehow.

She started to think about a few days after he left, she'd invited Chihiro over to spend the night at her house, and how her twin, yet older, brother, Nobu, had asked Chihiro to hold his homemade kite for him while he went to go get his camera, but she'd let it go.

He'd never forgiven her for that, but it put a smile on Sakura's face to remember.

_**--**__ "Where's my kite?" asked Nobu, ask he came back cautiously into the room._

_Chihiro was sitting on the couch, reading a book, looking bored._

"_It moved on and so should you." She replied._

_Nobu, now looking scared, ran out the door, only to see his kite flying away in the wind._

"_NOOOOOO!" You could hear him yell faintly through the doorway of the home. He came back into the house and glared at Chihiro._

"_Evil." Was all he said._

_Sakura came back into the room with 2 sodas in hand and sat next to Chihiro, turning the TV on. "Hey, what's going on?" Sakura asked._

_Nobu stomped up the stairs like a child, pouting. "Why are all your friends so mean?!" he yelled at the top of the stairs and slammed his door shut. __**--**_

***

As sakura neared the apartment complex, she looked up at Chihiro's window only to see no light.

"Is she already asleep?" sakura asked herself. "Oh well. I'll leave the ice cream, anyway. It's her favorite."

Sakura came up to the door of Chihiro's apartment and knocked; no reply. She knocked a few more times, each time, just a little bit louder, until she gave up and picked the lock. She walked and turned on the light. The place was empty, as far as she could tell.

"Chihiro? You hear?" she called out.

She left the ice cream in her freezer and went on back to Chihiro's room and lit up the room with a flick of the switch. It was completely empty. Chihiro wasn't even here. But there was a piece of paper on the bed. Sakura walked over to it cautiously and picked it up. It was a little crinkled and creased on one corner; probably got that way when she set something heavy on it.

Sakura read it, even more frightened with each word.

It read…

_Sakura,_

_I knew you'd come here. You're always trying to cheer me up and you're an awesome friend for that. Thank you. But, I can't stay here. At least, not now. I know you and Naruto have been wondering about my disappearance 2 days ago and that's exactly why I have to leave. I'll come back as soon as I can but it's just not safe right now and I can't explain it now. I'm sorry. And I know you might jump to conclusions and think I left to go look for Sasuke, but it's not that at all. Goodbye._

_Chihiro_

The bottom half of the paper was torn off, but it didn't matter. Chihiro was gone, too.

Sakura, frantic, ran to Tsunade immediately, not caring to stop to even give her lungs a chance to breathe, or her legs a chance to stop burning. She burst through the door of Tsunade's office, panting heaving, scared out of her mind.

But before, she could say anything, Tsunade raised one hand as in reassuring her.

"I already know." Tsunade stated, slipping a torn off piece of paper into her pocket which had been left in her office for her to find, merely hours ago. Scribbled on it in Chihiro's handwriting, said…

_Lady Tsunade,_

_I can't control it and I know there's a chance I might hurt them. I can't come back until I know they'll be safe._

_Chihiro_

* * *

**[Please review. I really want opinions.]**


	6. Chapter 6

2 ½ years passed after Sasuke's departure, and he returned after he'd defeated Orochimaru. Naruto and sakura practically tackled him to the ground with hugs as soon as he entered the village gates.

"Yeah, everyone's doing fine. First, our team, including Kakashi, went from 4, to 5, to 4, to 3, to 4, then back to 3 and, now that you're back, it's 4 again." Sakura was catching him up on what'd happened while he was gone.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked as he sipped his tea.

"Umm…" sakura stared at the ground and she shuffled the dirt with her feet "Chihiro's gone, too."

Sasuke fell silent. He hadn't expected this. How could she?

"I can't believe she would…" Sasuke started to himself

"Don't go thinking that she left to go after you." Sakura cut in. "We don't know why she did, but one of the things she clearly stated was that it wasn't to look for you."

There was nothing more he could say. It'd been almost 3 years since he'd seen her; since he'd seen anyone. He, Sakura, and Naruto were almost 16 and Chihiro's vanishing wasn't gonna make it a good year for him.

Through the next 6 months, Naruto tried to cheer him up a lot by sending him links to porn sites; typical Naruto. And Sakura was going out with her brother, Nobu's friend, Raimundo Taho; which definitely didn't make her brother very happy.

But, one very drowsy day – clouds covering every surface of the sky, and a slight drizzle of rain throughout the day – Sasuke finally decided to go see Naruto and do something; anything really. He just wanted to stop being so depressed.

Now, standing in front of Naruto's apartment, his hair dripping wet, – the rain had picked up quite a bit since he'd left his home – he knocked on the door only to hear the cry of a child.

Naruto hurried to open the door, with major bed head, and too busy to put a shirt on.

"What's going on in there?" Sasuke asked.

"Nothing…it's nothing." Naruto tried to say

Suddenly, a little girl, barely able to walk, she appear to be in her early year or 2 of life, with bright blue eyes and black hair, tugged at Naruto's pant leg.

"Dada?" She asked

"Hold on a sec." Naruto muttered to her.

Sasuke wide eyed, "Dada?!"

"It's a long story." Naruto stated.

"I got time."

Naruto sighed and turned to the little girl. "Lily, why don't you go to your room and I'll be right there?"

She wobbled/ran to her room, giggling the whole way there.

Sasuke came in and sat on the couch, looking around at the place. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been in here. Naruto plopped into the chair beside the couch, and let out a deep exhale.

"So?" Sasuke asked

"What?"

"Dada?"

"Oh…..yeah."

"Whose is she?"

"Mine…."

"And…..."

"…..Hinata."

"Oh, wow. She's always been so innocent."

Naruto smirked at this. "Not always."

"I don't need to know that. But, seriously? Did that happen while I was gone?"

"Yeah. I'm no longer allowed on the Hyuga property."

"Her dad tried to kill you when he found out?"

"Oh yeah."

"How old is she?"

"About a year and a half."

"Cute kid."

"Thanks."

There was a long – very long – awkward silence.

"So…" Naruto finally spoke up again "why you here?"

"Well, I wanted to see if you wanted to go do something, but it looks like you're a little busy."

"Nah, it's fine. Hinata's on her way to pick her up. We're still, technically, minors, so we had no say in the custody arrangement. I…. I wanted to marry her."

"Her dad wouldn't let you?"

"He wont' even let me see her except for when we trade Lily off to each other. And even then, he comes with her."

"Yikes."

"Yeah, they'll be here in about 10 minutes. We can go after that."

"Actually, I think I'll come back after the confrontation. I really don't wanna meet her dad when he's this pissed at someone. Oh, god, how'd Neji take it?"

"He understands. He's tried convince her dad to let her see me on her own time for the past 2 years."

"Alright, well, then, I'm out."

"Later."

Sasuke pushed himself up off the couch and exited the apartment, back into the rain, which was now, pouring.

"God damnit." He muttered to himself. He pulled his jacket over his head and trudged back to his own apartment. He cranked up his stereo with his emo rock and pulled out his phone. He started flipping through his pictures of Chihiro and just stopped to stare at one.

"Why?" he thought to himself. "Why'd you do this? Why'd you make me feel like it was my fault that you're gone? Why couldn't you have left something for me to find; to know where you went? God, I miss you. I love you, still."

***

Satori and Dorina Koyomada

Sasuke stood in front of the graves of the 2 people he wished he could talk to. He wished they could give him advice; tell him what to do about Chihiro. But he was pretty sure that if he started talking to a grave stone, he would look crazy.

But, he could still hope that he would get the answers he wanted someday. He lay the flowers he'd gotten on the grave stone and went back home.


End file.
